Whether nine tails or eight
by Takako Rumihashi
Summary: Before his subsequent sealing into Uzumaki Mito, the Kyubi no Kitsune decided he'd rather spend a hundred years reforming then to be forced into a filthy human. Too bad this messed up Hashirama's plan for peace.
1. Prologue and Chapter 1

**First story. Don't own Naruto. Formatting is hard. I got line breaks down!**

Prologue: The decision

He always hated the Uchiha. From the ungrateful son of the sage to the disgusting piece of filth called _Madara Uchiha._ Unfortunately those bastardized eyes gave a lot more than madness, capable of withstraining even him.

His rightful ire was drawn from the dying _Uchiha_ to the Senju's wife. Throughout his immense and incomprehensible existence, he encountered more than enough seals to know that he should not allow that technique to finish. He had no desire to be confined in anything, let alone a _human_.

There was only one problem.

The fight he was forced into aiding him along with the Senju's suppressive abilities had left him weakened. Not by very much, as he _was_ the most powerful being in existence. He just had no wish to be within a human for any given amount of time.

His lifespan is eternal. He could wait a century to reform.

Ch 1

A very different world

Sarutobi Hiruzen was old. No amount of denial will change this. He was old when he stepped down, let alone 12 years after his late successor's death. Yet he couldn't retire until one who was worthy and ready appeared. He sincerely hoped one day it would be Naruto.

Preferably sooner rather than later.

The boy had ended up as close to him as his own grandson, Konohamaru. Sarutobi knew he should've adopted him as such.

The aged leader knew why he couldn't, despite what his thoughts implied. After the Attack of Konoha's supposedly safely sealed biju the council amassed more power than he'd previously thought possible. He thought they'd been a thorn in his side _before._ He'd barely kept the boy from mobs and they claimed it was favoritism. If only they knew who his parents were, then-

"Hokage-sama?" A Chunin he vaguely remembered asked him, head poking through the cracked door.

"Proceed, Chunin."

"The Takikage has accepted your offer and has sent a team for the Chunin exams, they are expected to arrive within the day." He informed, leafing through a stack of papers in his arms before handing a wax sealed scroll to his superior. "The details are here."

The Hokage broke the the wax and unfurled the scroll. "You're dismissed," he rumbled, eyes scanning the contents with a slight crease to his brow. Once the Chunin left he set the message down and relit his pipe using a low powered Katon jutsu.

He could only hope his fellow Kage was as friendly as he wrote.

* * *

A haze of nervous paranoia was prominent in the older shinobi of Konohagakure. The upcoming Chunin exams were the first in the villages history to have Taki attend. That is, the first time when hosted by Konoha.

It was no secret the hatred Taki held for the leaf. Their grudge spans back to the creation of the hidden village system, when the Waterfall leader was a friend of the leaf's first Fire Shadow.

As a show of goodwill and friendship, the Shodaime had promised the Nanabi no Kabutomushi to the village, in hopes it would foster relations and deter invasion by a larger country.

The purpose of the alliance was twofold. With a hidden village containing the Seven tails as an ally, no other country could accuse the leaf of hoarding Biju while also giving the very same advantage by alliance. Not to mention Taki's strategic placement as a buffer for earth country.

The Village Hidden in the Waterfalls needed the deterrent to keep Iwa and Kumo away. The country was in a precarious position. Like Amegakure they were surrounded by three world powers, though with a significant barrier of smaller countries between them and Kumo. They did not have that luxury for Iwa.

When Hashirama failed to deliver the Seven tails, the village broke all ties with Konoha. This move was not in their best interest however. Whenever Iwa was at odds with Konoha, Taki became the battleground. The previously Kageless village ended up electing the most experienced Jounin as their commander. They used Stone's hatred of the leaf as an excuse to ally during the Third Shinobi War.

'If only that was the last of it,' the elite Jounin, Hatake Kakashi, mused with an internal sigh. The source of his worry laid in his Genin team. He had no doubt they were among the top percentage of rookies, but if Taki was sending a team, it wouldn't be a low level one.

For all he knows, the team could've been kept from promotion for this exact situation. With a rustle of his Icha Icha, he pondered his cute little Genins' success in the event of an encounter.

Kakashi winced.

Perhaps it was his own experience with teams that lead him to conclude they'd fail, but he knew Taki was second to no one in their opposition of the leaf. More so than the fence sitters 'dislike' of the Yondaime.

If only he had known Taki would be coming when he signed them up for an unintentional curb stomping.

* * *

In contrast to their sensei's gloom, team seven was nearly celebrating. Even Sasuke was happy, at least with that douchey smirk of his.

Naruto couldn't be further from his teammates' calm was practically dancing with joy. Okay, he _was_ dancing with joy, but could you blame him? He'd become a Chunin already! At this rate the Hokage's hat would be resting on his head by the end of the week.

"Take that old man!" He yelled, wide grin nearly splitting his face in two. This earned him a glare from the teme and a rap (or in this case axe kick) to the head by Sakura. He didn't care that his internal monologue was no longer quite so internal, he was going to become a Chunin!

Hopefully, anyway.

Despite how he acted, he wasn't stupid. Well wasn't _that_ stupid to believe it would be easy. Though the A-rank to wave -can you believe it! An A-rank mission!- certainly boosted his confidence. Not that he was lacking in that, though.

He'd ace that test tomorrow. If only he had that confidence in finding his kunai pouch. 'Where'd that even go, anyway?'

* * *

Said pouch had been commandeered by a certain young Sarutobi.

"Won't boss be surprised when he gets a load of knife tomorrow!" Konohamaru giggled, brandishing his pilfered kunai like it was the key to becoming the Hokage. He ignored his friends' nervous looks in favor of swinging them and making sound effects.

"Tomorrow is gonna be great!"

 **A/N Hopefully their will be action in the next one**


	2. Chapter 2

**Tis me again, and so soon. Own nothing so far.**

* * *

Ch 2: Pre-exam hassle

She couldn't sleep.

She knew she needed it, tomorrow was a test that according to her research, had a less than 5% passing rate for first timers. She had no doubt Sasuke-kun would be fine, hell, even Naruto's chances were good. Better than hers at least.

They just seemed so happy, and she wanted to be a part of that. Sakura was excited too, though it was dampened by her memories of uselessness in wave. She could only hope her increased training regime would be enough (and by 'increase', she means going from Shikamaru to Sasuke in hours training per day). Her parents wouldn't stop bothering her, wondering what could've possible gotten her so tired, day after day. She wouldn't be left behind this time, even if she had to stop dieting.

The amount of training she had done was impressive, but she wasn't the top kunoichi of the her year through ignorance. No matter how hard she trained in a short time, she could only improve so much. Further thoughts on the matter were abandoned in favor of the sleep she needed to make her work a reality.

(

The next day found her nervousness back. Sure she trained for a few months, but was she ready? What use was impressing Sasuke-kun as a corpse?

Her frequent sighs drew her mother's gaze.

"Sakura, honey, are you sure you want to go through with this?" she inquired, lightly gripping the anxious Genin's shoulder.

"I'll be fine, Mom. do you think I was coming home sweaty for fashion? I've trained hard for this," she let out with confidence she didn't feel. She was halfway through the door before her mother replied.

"Be safe."

Sakura's hands steadied. "I will."

* * *

The walk to her team's meeting spot by the bridge only made her more stiff with every step. The milling crowd was filled with possible enemy Genin, every childish shriek and angry customer were stone hearted killers waiting for the moment she showed an ounce of incompetency.

Was this how Sasuke felt being the last Uchiha? This pressure on her shoulders that sapped her will like some kind of sick jutsu? She didn't even realize how on edge she'd become until she nearly stabbed a passerby with a kunai that definitely wasn't in her hand a minute ago.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose while drawing a deep breath. The noises of the crowd faded away into silence, and she opened her eyes to an empty street.

"It's just the nerves, Sakura, don't pin everything on enemy ninja," The pinkette murmured in frustration. Once again her hand was in motion, only this time it resulted in a clang.

"Ohoho, I see the little girl has some measure of skill." A slimy voice echoed around her. She didn't know how sound could be slimy but this guy accomplished the impossible.

Her head was already swiveled towards the source as more of her recent training kicked in. Feet slammed down hard on the pavement of the empty avenue in a chakra powered jump. Surprise fluttered onto her enemy's barely visible face before he disappeared.

"Ha!"

An exclamation of success alerted her newly minted senses to where her kunai should end up. Another metallic ring resounded from their locked weapons. Her hands were soon shaking as she faced off the strange ninja in a straw hat. His masked face sneered in derision as he jumped back.

She committed the sound of his fluttering navy robes to memory. The man was out of sight again, and she strained her ears for a sign of him, though it sounded like it was coming from four sides at once. She picked up a slight increase in volume from her right and no sooner than that, she was bent over backwards in a show of flexibility she rarely exhibited. The blade passed by with millimeters to spare, even cutting some of the longer ends of her hair that lagged behind her motions. An oddly Sasuke-esque smirk wove its way along her lips, as the wind blew the excess hair into the nin's eyes.

He clutched at his face to get the bubblegum strands out of his way, then growled as he threw them to the side. "You bitch! I'll show you."

He once again was off in his odd 'surround sound' technique. Only this time, Sakura's eyes glimpsed his form in between his bursts of speed. Crouching in anticipation, she once again moved to intercept the angered Ninja's Shunshin slash. She switched hands then reversed the grip of the kunai in her left hand, subsequently stabbing down with chakra enhanced motion.

Much to both her and the unidentified nin's shock the thin knife imbedded itself through his palm inches before the blade it held reached her throat. It continued on powered by an overload of chakra, sliding in-between shingles and into the wood of the roof where she'd previously been standing. In the same motion she kicked off the roof, all her weight in an odd backflip using the impaling kunai as a pivet. Before her hand left the makeshift joint, another blade slipped into her dominant hand as gravity pulled it from its holster. The improvised maneuver left her at the back of the Ninja's forcibly crouched form with the second kunai to his neck.

He raised his available hand in surrender, muttering "Ya got me, Ya got me. So you aren't as fragile as you look."

The second of distraction caused by that backhanded compliment was all the captured nin needed to perform a substitution. In the once incapacitated man's place was a training dummy, and Sakura's enemy was nowhere to be seen.

She sighed in relief, only noticing that she was already at her destination. The training dummy was from the yard of the academy, which just so happened to be the building she was standing on.

"Oh, I'm early."

* * *

Sasuke thought he had escaped this.

Ever since his team had gotten back from wave, his days had been relatively peaceful. He trained, ate, trained, did D ranks, ate, trained, ate, slept and repeat. Nice, peaceful, productive, safe. He thought he was safe. Oh, how blind he was. They took the upcoming Chunin exams as an excuse to torment him. Everywhere he looked, every corner of every block was filled with them.

Fangirls.

The bane of his miserable existence.

"Hey, I found him!" One of the creatures screeched.

All at once, like an army of demented dolls, the preteen girls' heads snapped and locked on to his position. There were too many.

A moment of silence past.

"Sasuke-kun!"

A chorus of high pitched voices drummed against his eardrums in a sinister and otherworldly tempo. Like the shinigami himself was playing an instrument of death, torturing him with the chance of escape.

No. He wouldn't be ended here. He was an Uchiha, Kami damn it! He was going to-

they were feet away.

He ran.

* * *

Naruto stuck his pinkie into his ear.

"Were people yelling?" He mumbled to himself. Perhaps a robber? Or an enemy ninja that escaped the T&I department and was a missing-nin from Iwa who was trying to gather info in order to invade and his family was being threatened by his Kage and… wait.

Was there a rustle?

He took a step forward. The noise was in tandem with his steps.

"A-ha!" Naruto exclaimed, turning and pointing at a suspiciously shaped rock. A square one. With an eyehole. The 'rock' lifted up to reveal Konohamaru and his friends.

"As expected of my rival, able to see through my brilliant disguise," the kid proclaimed with his hands on his hips. He looked like a vertically challenged superhero.

An orange haired girl jumped from behind him to the left making an uncomfortable pose involving her leg up. "I'm Moegi, the most beautiful and powerful kunoichi in the leaf!" A boy with grey bowl cut hair jumped out of Konohamaru's other side. "I am Udon, the math Ninja!"

"And with the amazing moi taking front and center completes the Konohamaru corps!" He finished, gleam in his eye.

Naruto just sighed in exasperation. "I know, Konohamaru. Do you have to do this every time I see you?"

"Whaddya mean? Our intro is epic!" He replied in agrivation, followed by a chorus of "Yeah!"

"Anyway," Konohamaru continued, "You promised you'd play ninja with us this week. The weeks almost over!"

"Ah, sorry about that," Naruto let out, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't right now I have to-"

"I thought you would refuse, so here's some incentive!" The boyshouted mischievously. He held up a kunai pouch that looked suspiciously like…

"Hey wait a minute! Thats my kunai pouch you brat!" The blond yelled in reply, hands gripping and ungripping.

"Catch us if you can!" The brat yelled running off in the direction of the academy.

"Oh I'll catch you alright. Then you'll get what's comin' to ya!" He seethed, then took off after them.

* * *

Were they gone? Sasuke's eyes frantically darted to every possible place one of them may be. Only after scanning with his Sharingan over three times did he deem it safe to relax.

His body relaxed against the trunk of a tree. Arms haphazardly hanging over the branch, he struggled to keep his breath. Ragged gasps that gave no indication of the pride he felt normally.

There was no pride in being chased by them.

Sasuke's body involuntarily shuddered. He repressed the urge to retry his breakfast, only in reverse. If he had been just a bit slower… no. Don't even think about it. It didn't, and he was okay. Safe.

He stared into the upper branches of the tree he took refuge in, mind wandering from subject to subject when he heard an obnoxious shout. With a sigh he got up into a position that wouldn't bring shame to his name if seen, and watched for the inevitable appearance of the dobe.

Ah. There he was. Chasing that kid that sometimes follows the dead last.

The game of chase ended upon the scarf clad boy's run in, quite literally, with an older boy. This newcomer sported some weird black bodysuit and a cat eared hood bearing the symbol of Sunagakure. On his back was a strange object covered in bandages. To top it all off, he was wearing purple makeup.

What a weirdo.

The femboy lifted the kid by his scarf spitting generic bully lines like a two bit villain. The kid practically shouted for the genius's orange wearing teammate, and the idiot didn't take long to shoot off on cat ears.

"Let go of him you bastard!" The dobe all but snarled at him. It only earned a smug look from the self proclaimed 'better' that was the sand Genin. Deciding he'd had enough of the idiocy, Sasuke tested the weight of a small rock pilfered from the gravel earlier as… deterrent, then launched it at the guy.

He cursed and dropped the boy, who ran and hid behind a corner with his friends. Naruto yelled something about 'the teme showing him up,' but he couldn't care less.

"If you're in our village, you follow our rules," the last Uchiha drawled, jumping down from the branch. "Especially if they involve threatening to, how'd you put it? Oh yeah, 'disembowel you with the trees you like to hug.'"

He only sneered at me and opened his mouth to reply, but the Raven haired teen cut him off to finish. "Doing this to the Sandaime's grandson makes it all the more stupid."

The dumbass paled drastically, allowing the paint on his face to contrast that much more. If possible, he paled further when a cool voice broke into our conversation.

"Kankuro. You are embarrassing our village." the unknown arrival stated, sitting in the branch next to the one Sasuke had just vacated. He disappeared in a swirl of sand, only to reappear next to the idiot named Kankuro.

"Ah, you see, they started it and,-"

"Shut up or I will kill you." Despite the monotone manner, it gave him an uneasy chill. This guy was dangerous.

The cat eared Genin had clammed up, and Sasuke, ever the opportunist, took advantage of the lull in conversation to ask the nin what was biting at me. "What's your name?"

"Sabaku no Gaara. And you?" His voice was coarse like sand, yet paradoxically smoother than sandstone.

"Uchiha Sasuke," A smirk adorned his face. It looked like this exam was going to be interesting.

* * *

 **A/N: I would put Iruka's pretest for the boys, but it seems** **redundant. We all know they were ready, and I need a valid excuse for later.**


	3. Chapter 3

**No own. Unless you count ownage.**

Ch 3: Chunin Exams Part 1

* * *

After the encounter with the sand team, Naruto reluctantly followed the bastard to the exam site. He had said his goodbyes to the brat trio, after snatching back his kunai pouch. If that wasn't a travesty on its own, then it certainly was with their thought Sasuke-teme was _cool_.

As if the the emo emotionally stunted asshole with a stick up said crevice the size of the Hokage monument was cool. The only mysterious thing about him is how he managed to shove it up so that and his apparent ignorance of the way people worshipped him. Everyone treated him like he was a _prince_. Uchiha-sama this, Uchiha-dono that. Why couldn't _he_ be the one treated like that? Naruto knew he'd appreciate it more.

Then again, those fangirls certainly weren't worth it… unless Sakura-chan was one.

Speaking of Sakura, the contrasting duo spotted her waiting in front of the academy. Her clothes were ruffled, a few tears were scattered across the fabric in an array of anarchy. Seams were loose and frayed, much like her now shorter and uneven hair.

"You look like crap Sakura-chan!" He yelled with a wide grin. For some reason she didn't smile back. In fact, she looked distinctly _un_ happy to see (in this case hear) him. Sakura was robbed of the chance to reply when Sasuke grunted an answer to his unspoken question.

"Are you an idiot?" The bastard had the gall to call him dull! Just when he thought he'd actually be helpful. The Uchiha tapped his chin in mock thought. "Oh right, you _are."_

"Teme, I'm not-"

"Shut-up Naruto, let's just go in the building," He was interrupted by a tired reprimand from the source of the argument. The blond was going to protest, but he saw how worn out she looked. He was the one who pointed it out, after all. Sasuke agreed in a monosyllabic fashion, like usual, and walked into the building. Naruto followed with a pout, but stayed quiet.

They walked through the halls of the academy, filling Naruto with a melancholic nostalgia. His memories of this place were bittersweet in their duel nature. This was the place he'd met his second precious person, Iruka-sensei. It was also the place he failed the exam thrice. Mizuki, Shikamaru and Choji. The teme, Sakura-chan. Betrayal, and bonds.

A commotion tore him from his musings. Two vaguely familiar faces we're sneering in derision at a girl with twin buns. What was her name… Ton-Ton? Tin-Tin? His question was once again answered without it needing to be voiced.

"Tenten-chan!" A boy, presumably her teammate, yelled in worry. He knelt to her side, checking for bruises. The attacker scoffed.

"If you can't even take a light hit like that, how are you supposed to survive these exams? It isn't for little girls playing at being ninja."

The recipient of said lecture, if it could even be called that, clenched her fists. Her jaw was tightly shut, as if she was barely holding back from strangling him. Naruto was going to help, but Sasuke grabbed onto his shoulder. When he spared a glance, he saw an expression besides condescension.

"Let's go. Quietly," the bandaged Genin whispered. His tone held no room for argument, but Naruto wasn't known for his tact.

"This is the room-" A hand cut him off, and prevented further sounds from him. He was soon directed up the stairs while no one was looking, much to the blonds confusion and anger.

At the top of the stairs, Naruto had enough. He stuck his tongue out, and therefore onto Sasuke-teme's hand. He felt his mouth gain its freedom, and his ears gained cursing from his effort.

"You disgusting imbecile! What leap of logic could have possessed you to think _licking my hand_ was a good idea!?" The raven teen hissed waving his hand like it was drenched in acid. Naruto only replied by sticking his tongue out again. Their attention was drawn off each other and onto a swirl of leaves by a door labeled 301. They left gravity defying hair and an upturned eye.

"Hello my cute little Genins. I see _all_ of you came. That's good." Sakura's brow furrowed for a moment, then she replied to the scarecrows insinuation.

"You say that like it would've been bad if one of us didn't come."

Kakashi-sensei hummed in thought. "You mean I didn't tell you?"

Naruto felt there was something he wasn't getting here. "Didn't tell us what! Stop making it so dramatic!"

"If you insist," the Jounin shrugged. "You can't take the Chunin exams without a team."

The orange wearing Genin was perplexed. Why did his sensei neglect to tell them? He would have voiced this out loud, but Sakura seemed to realise his meaning.

"You didn't want anyone pressured." It was heavily implied that the _she_ was the one the statement applied to. Kakashi-sensei once again made a sound of confirmation and nodded.

"That and it's fun to mess with you."

Now all three were as tired looking as Sakura had been.

"To be serious, I'd say I'm proud you all made the decision on your own. I wouldn't have nominated you if I didn't think you were ready," their Sensei lectured. He held a single finger up. "Now don't let me down, and pass this exam!" His hands turned up a thumbs up reminiscent of the an unknown rival. In response his team nodded and let out their expressions of determination.

"We will."

"Hn."

"We're gonna ace it

* * *

He was completely and utterly screwed. Everything had been going so good, too…

-()-

 _When team seven entered the room, it wasn't hard to notice the sheer number of people in there. Nearly every desk would be filled. Of course, it was hard_ not _to notice when_ everyone _glared at the team upon arrival. The glares were making Sakura-chan uncomfortable, but both Naruto and the teme were unaffected. Naruto wasn't because he had suffered far worse. Sasuke couldn't care tension in Sakura's shoulders was dissipated when a voice he knew all too well was heard._

" _Sasuke-kun!" The pale blond Genin, Sakura's rival in love, had thrown herself at the poor bastard. He had recognized the voice as well, but the Yamanaka was no slouch when it came to intelligence. She yelled after jumping at him, giving no time to dodge. While Ino's antics irritated the pinkette, the presence of a familiar face eased the girls mind._

 _After a few moments of arguing among the frenemies, two more familiar faces showed up. These faces widened the grin on his face. "Hey Shikamaru, Choji!" The boy shouted, happy some of his few friends were taking the exam with him. Choji nodded, then proceeded to open a bag of chips. Nothing unordinary there. Shikamaru on the other hand, groaned._

" _So your team is here to, Naruto?" His slouch lowered with every word. Then under his breath he muttered "What a drag."_

" _The only one being a drag is you," Ino huffed, arms crossed. Somewhere along the line, Sasuke had gotten her off, and was a great distance from all of us. Shikamaru, like the lazy-ass he was, just shrugged and sighed._

 _Another loud voice echoed through the room, this one also friendly for Naruto. "So, the dead last is here to. Did ya prank your Jounin-sensei into submission?"_

 _The addressed blond shrugged flippantly and replied "I don't know, did your Jounin-sensei get tired of the smell of wet dog?" to the Inuzuka. He smirked when his question had been answered with like, stretching the fang marks on his cheeks._

" _Maybe you should both tone it down a little." A voice none of the rookies recognized broke through. They saw a grey haired teen with glasses and kind eyes. The teen smiled at them, and continued with "The other Genin are… antsy. You might want to keep off their bad side."_

 _The older Genin prompted a wave of confirming looks. Naruto could very well see what he meant._

" _Seeing as you're rookies, I'll lend some of my help." the teen offered, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "My name is Yakushi Kabuto."_

" _What could you do to help us?" Kiba asked, more curious than condescending._

" _I've got prior experience with these exams."_

 _Sakura joined in and put forward a question. "How many times have you taken these exams, two or three?"_

 _The Genin looked embarrassed, sheepishly rubbing his neck before glancing at the floor and mumbling 'Seven times."_

 _The wild Inuzuka burst into laughter. "Maybe_ we _should be helping_ you _."_

 _The Grey haired teen laughed along, but then sobered up. "To be serious, I have learned that information is power. As such, I have collected a significant amount of info on the exams, examiners, and examinees.". He slipped a back of cards out of his pouch and showed them to the group. "These are nin-info cards."_

" _Nin-info cards? Why are they blank?" Ino inquired._

" _Ah, but that's the conundrum. Info can do more harm than good if your enemies have it as well, so I encrypted the cards with my chakra."_

 _The Nara gained an interest in these words and walked up to the Older Genin. "Encrypted with chakra, so how do you access it?"_

 _His glasses glinted. "I simply channel my chakra into the cards. The info shows up as I do," he demonstrated, the card displaying a graph of which villages turned up, and how many Genin they sent._

" _Can it do specific people?" A brooding voice demanded. Sasuke was back in the group, looked really eager for this._

" _Who do you have in mind?"_

" _Sabaku no Gaara."_

 _The teen pouted. "You're making it easy, giving names. I was hoping for a challenge." The Genin still did as asked. "Sabaku no Gaara, 8 C-ranks, and 1 B-rank. His teammates are Kankurou and Temari, both of which are the children of the Kazekage. His sensei is a well respected Jounin of Suna, Baki." So far, no one seemed all that impressed. Sure a B-rank is impressive, but not unheard of. "But get this, it is rumored that he has gotten back from every mission without a scratch."_

 _Now that got their attention. Specifically Sasuke's. He was practically shivering in anticipation._

* * *

With all that info, Naruto was sure the test was gonna be easy.

Yet, the first test was written. _Written._ Who in the hell thought that _math_ is needed to be Chunin? The blond glared at the problems, head in his hands. His team had passed an A-rank mission, and he didn't understand or care about math at all. Not to mention he had to concentrate with who he was next to.

On Naruto's right, was a Kusa kunoichi with the creepiest laugh he'd ever heard. And he'd heard the _goddamn_ _Kyubi no Kitsune_ laugh in Wave. On his left… well he now found someone scarier than that gourd dude.

It was after Kabuto had called the Sound village insignificant.

-()-

" _Who are you calling insignificant?" That question was all Kabuto was given before being attacked . Apparently, that was all the warning he_ needed. _The glasses wearing Genin backstepped a straight punch from a ninja covered in bandages. His only identification was a hitai-ate with a musical note on it._

 _Naruto jumped when Kabuto suddenly keeled over and let out the contents of his stomach. "What happened!?" He yelled, "We saw Kabuto dodge the hit!"_

 _The mummified Genin chuckled. It was a deep rumbling sound; far too mature to be considered childish. He would have answered, but another ninja attacked._

 _This one from Taki._

-()-

Naruto may not have been the best of students, okay he was _really_ not the best of students. But even he knew the relationship between Taki and Konoha. This made it all the more astonishing when one appeared to be helping Kabuto.

Only they weren't.

Shivers of fear and disgust racked his form as he glanced to his left nervously.

-()-

 _A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed the strange device on the Oto-nins arm. The assailant was a girl about their age. Her garb consisted of standard black shinobi sandals, and navy pants a shade lighter. The ends were secured with deep red wrappings in order to prevent noise when moving. The top she wore was navy and long sleeved, but just as form fitting. It left little of her shape to the imagination. The sleeves if the outfit were kept from rustling in a similar manner to her pant legs. The outfit was finished by metal plated fingered gloves, and a standard hitai-ate on her forehead. Her body was only partially developed, as the norm for their age. She had long crimson hair nearly reaching her knees, and eyes a bright but dulled green._

 _Her eyes held no warmth, compassion, or any other human emotion. A voice, so monotone that it put automated answering machines to shame, spoke._

" _You are annoying. Die."_

 _Her hand crushed the gauntlet in a cacophony of screeching metal and tearing muscles, its sound only drowned out by the screams of the Oto-nin in which it belonged to. She let go, only to reach for the shaking Genin's neck._

 _She would have crushed it too, if the proctor hadn't shown up._

-()-

Those eyes were so empty. The girl showed no sadistic satisfaction, no regret, _nothing_. It terrified him, it was like she wasn't human at all. Hell, if she hadn't of moved, he would assume she was dead.

Despite the gruesome demonstration, something _familiar_ about her rang in his head. He knew he missed something. Something was just off about her.

He sincerely prayed she wouldn't kill him before the second part of the test.

* * *

It had been near an hour. An hour of his creepy seat-mates, of his teammates glaring holes through his head. Everything was riding on that tenth question.

Currently, the normally hyperactive blond had his head in his arms. He would have kept them there, but the sound of someone returning, and the proctor saying "I hope your trip was _enlightening,_ " brought him back to reality. Within a minute of this interaction Ibiki called time up. Then he made up new rules.

Who _does_ that? Only _children_ make up new rules halfway through the game! Now it didn't matter if he had or hadn't answered the previous questions. The thought of staying a Genin forever… no. He wouldn't let it stop him. _No._

"No."

The proctor raised an eyebrow at him. "What was that? Quitting?"

The orange Genin raised his hand shakily. Ibiki smirked, thinking he'd given up. That thought went right out of everyone's mind when he _slammed_ his hand on the desk with enough force to crack it.

"Screw you. I don't care if I have to stay a Genin forever. _I'm not leaving_."

"Oh?" The proctor questioned, "Are you sure you want to risk that?"

The blond growled, hands balling into fists. "I'm sure as hell! I don't care if I can't get up in rank. You don't have to be a Chunin to become the Hokage. I'll be field promoted into the position if I have to."

The proctor smiled when Naruto continued to stare at him, and the stemmed flow of ninja didn't start back up.

"Very well. You all pass."

* * *

 **Poor Hinata and Shino :(, Naruto didn't even notice them.**

 **A/N: As you can see, I introduced my first OC. I can only hope the introduction didn't bore you.**


End file.
